II. Anmerkungen zum Buchtext, Teil II - Einsnull

Cuts were also imposed on Laurel and Hardy’s other three-reelers for unclear reasons. Strangely – given
the availability of dubbing techniques and the fact that the previous releases had been in German, albeit
phonetically so – these films were once again shown in English, with German subtitles. A number of new
regulations may have triggered this decision, the single most important being that from this time on, German
dubs of foreign films had to be made in German studios. M-G-M did not yet have their own dubbing
studio in Germany, but now they had even more reason to arrange for one. Other changes were in order as
well: M-G-M would no longer accept the popular but somewhat derogatory trade name Dick und Dof; and
supporting players’ names were now left in their original versions, instead of trying to find «funny» German
equivalents.
Numerous shorts followed. SCRAM! earned the distinction of being marketed with equal prominence to
the feature it supported, in this case the Marie Dressler film EMMA.
Another intriguing combination of comedians was in the programme pairing HARTE EIER UND NÜSSE
(«Hard Boiled Eggs and Nuts», which anyone familiar with Laurel and Hardy will quickly recognize as COUN-
TY HOSPITAL) with the Buster Keaton M-G-M talkie THE PASSIONATE PLUMBER. Keaton’s M-G-M talkies were rather
successful in the States at the time, but today are not exactly considered the pinnacle of his career.
Contemporary German critics saw the feature’s weakness as much as they did the short’s strength, suspecting
the latter was really the undeclared main attraction.
As delightful as it was seeing Laurel and Hardy in the theatres during that period, the times themselves
were not, for on the fatal day of January 30, 1933, Adolf Hitler seized power.
When BE BIG and LAUGHING GRAVY were shown in theatres (as individual shorts, quite unlike the phonetic
feature-length combinations LES CAROTTIERS and LOS CALAVERAS prepared for rench and Spanish-speaking
audiences), censorship regulations had not yet been further tightened. LAUGHING GRAVY was
once again coupled with a Keaton talkie, and this time the short was even advertised in bigger lettering.
urthermore, an unidentified Charley Chase short was added to the programme and, unlike Buster or the
Boys, Chase personally attended the premiere. Laurel and Hardy’s colleague not only accepted the audience’s
warm applause, but also gave a little «Dankesspeech». Only after that did the show continue, resulting
in an event that offered «nearly too much laughter,» as contemporary critics noted.
BE BIG was, for the time being, the last Laurel and Hardy short thus released to German theatres. The
next Laurel and Hardy film in line was a feature, the comic opera RA DIAVOLO. Again, the English version
was subtitled, and for the first time, a trailer was used in the marketing of the film. The critics raved. «Chaplin
and Harold Lloyd cannot keep up with that,» they wrote, illustrating the point with a caricature. amous
critic Herbert Ihering observed: «Silent Chaplin comedy in talking picture. The laughter does not end.» Another
paper, though, complained about the «cheesy» aspects and grumbled: «It isn’t exactly stimulating that
everything is spoken in English.» New zeitgeist, or an early advocate of dubbed versions? Indeed, CAPTAIN O
THE GUARD and ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN RONT had been the first films to be dubbed into German by means
of a so-called «Rhythmographie» process.
A couple of months later, the WWI-themed PACK UP YOUR TROUBLES opened in Berlin in its entirety, only
to be cut a few weeks later. German authorities now did not appreciate seeing Laurel and Hardy in combat
with German soldiers.
In 1934, while the Nazis started to restructure the German film industry and regulations, SONS O THE DE-
SERT became the first German-dubbed Laurel and Hardy film. As many as five different institutions – up to
the ‹ührer› himself – were now in control of any release, but with selected exceptions, this had little impact
on the comedy team’s films.
Probably just to be on the safe side, or maybe to serve two entirely different kinds of audiences – a more
demanding minority of purists and the general public – SONS was first passed in the original version. or
the dubbed variant, a trailer and press materials at that time supported the marketing of this «Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
ilm in German language», and at least one German critic was receptive to the unique
qualities of this Laurel and Hardy feature – which many believe their best – writing that «Dick and Dof, masters
of slapstick comedy, prove that they are truly remarkable actors.» (Berliner Nachtausgabe).
Sadly, the German-dubbed film itself and details of the German voice cast remain elusive, and thus it
cannot be clarified whether SONS also was the debut performance of the German actor who – at least as far
as vocals are concerned – was to become DO: Walter Bluhm.